On 22 October 2024, around 35 professionals gathered at Seddiner See for the market information event "Value chains for organic grain from Brandenburg". The event was organised on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection (MLUK, now MLEUV) and was part of the Brandenburg Action Plan for Organic Agriculture (Ökoaktionsplan Brandenburg).

Event Objective

The focus was on fostering exchange among stakeholders along the value chain – from production and trade to processing and marketing. The goal was to provide new impetus for strengthening regional processing and marketing of organic grain from Brandenburg and to promote cooperation.

Event Highlights

Morning: Through short keynote presentations and field reports, representatives from agriculture, grain trading (e.g. Kündig AG), producers' associations (e.g. Öko-Korn Nord), milling companies (e.g. Bio-Mühle Göddenstedt), and bakeries provided insights into existing structures and successful marketing strategies.

Afternoon: Two practice-oriented workshops enabled in-depth exchange:

• Cooperation between producers and mills, with a keynote by Felix Wasmuth (Märkisches Landbrot)
• (New) marketing channels for organic grain, with a keynote by Simon Gerlach (Bioland e.V.)

Key Takeaways

• Producers' associations (Erzeugergemeinschaften – EZGs) are a key success factor for effective marketing – even larger enterprises benefit from close collaboration.
• There is a growing need for new marketing concepts, for example to handle larger volumes or to introduce innovative organic products to the retail sector.
• Structural investments in storage, logistics, and organisational capacity are essential. Additionally, new actors – such as specialised value chain developers – are needed to initiate and support cooperation.